Nothing's Wrong
by Lokrume
Summary: Derek isn't feeling well and would rather stay home from school, a story that the rest of the family don't buy for a second so Derek ends up going there anyway. But what if he really is sick…? (Derek whump, Slight Dasey fluff, George moments)
1. Chapter 1

Nothing's Wrong

**Author's Note: **I really wanted to write some thick yummy Derek-whump, and this is what I came up with. ;) It was meant to be a lot shorter than this, but it turned out a bit longer so I decided to split it up in two chapters instead (and possibly a third one too). Slight Casey fluff too, or at least Casey caring and worrying about her stepbrother.

oOoOo

It was Sunday morning and the McDonalds and Venturis were having a calm family breakfast together. Edwin was telling everyone around the table about this girl he had met in school that was totally interested in him, but had a peculiar way of showing it by trying to bust his kneecaps during gym class. Lizzie was trying to tell Nora about a meeting for martial arts interested girls that she'd been invited to next weekend, and wanted to make sure that Nora could drive her there. Marti on the other hand was trying her very best to interrupt everyone to get some attention.

Nora, however, seemed a bit absent minded and kept looking up from her breakfast with a nervous expression. George, being the sensitive husband, was of course the first one to notice this.

"So, Nora..." George said and took a bite of his toast. "Have I done something to make you have second thoughts on our marriage? Because it looks like you're planning to run away somewhere..."

"What?" Nora said in surprise. "Oh, George. No. No, it has nothing to do with you. I'm just a bit... Well..."

"Distracted...?" George suggested.

"No, it's more like... Have you ever had the feeling that you're sitting on a ticking bomb that's about to go off any second?" Nora asked.

"... Are you threatening me?" George said uncertainly.

"No!" Nora replied. "I'm talking about Casey and Derek. I haven't heard, or seen them the whole morning, and that makes me feel... Well, it's a bit unnerving"

"Nora. It's Sunday morning." George explained simply. "And being sixteen is a lot of hard work these days. They got school work to do, parties to attend, social activities, sports... No wonder that they get tired. Let the teenagers sleep, they'll probably need it."

"Yeah, and you're probably right." Nora admitted and took a sip from her coffee.

"So, mom. Does Saturday work for you?" Lizzie asked.

"Huh?" Nora said confused. "What about what...?"

"Can someone PLEASE NOTICE ME!" Marti yelled furiously, not being used to be ignored, and didn't take it very well. "I wanna exist TOO!"

Just as Nora was about to reply to at least one of the girls, she was interrupted by a loud high pitched scream from upstairs, sounding though the house.

"DEREK!" Casey yelled, and in the next second a noise of running feet was heard in the stairs as Derek suddenly showed up, skipping the last five steps, and rushed in to the kitchen as he immediately took his seat. Grinning like someone that just had had the best day of his life. George looked at Derek, not sure if he dared to ask what his oldest son had done now.

"Derek, if this is your version of morning gymnastics, I rather prefer if you could do it in a way that didn't involve Casey." George said.

"Dad." Derek stated and grabbed some milk and cereals. "If you're seriously trying to tell me to stop pranking Casey, then I'm gonna have to disappoint you. Big time."

"I'm not telling you stop your pranks." George said defensively. "Just to... not do them so early in the morning. And especially on Sundays, that's just unholy..."

Another pair of feet was now heard in the stairs. Stomping and mad. And then Casey showed up in the kitchen, her hair still damp from the shower she apparently just had got out from. She had a simple pair of jeans on and a white t-shirt that she seemed to just have put on along the way.

"Derek!" She yelled when she saw him at the table. "I swear to you that one day, I'm gonna smash in your teeth with your own hockey stick and feed them to you though your nostrils and-!"

Edwin and Lizzie instinctively covered Marti's ears when Casey started her threatening rant, and Casey seemed to just now realize that there were more people in the room than just herself and Derek. She straightened up slightly, trying to look like her calm and compulsive self.

"Mom. Lizzie. George. Edwin. Marti." She said politely with a nod to each one of them.

"Casey..." Nora sighed. "I haven't even swallowed my eggs yet, and you two have already declared war towards each other. Can't you perhaps wait with this till after breakfast...?"

"No!" Casey retorted, back to her furious mood. "I'm _not_ gonna wait with this! I'll sort this out while my anger is still at its peak!"

"Derek, what did you do?" George asked.

"He broke in to the bathroom while I was taking a shower!" Casey answered in Derek's place. "And that's not even what I'm upset about. He sneaked in, and then filled all my clothes with liquid soap!"

"Derek..." Nora sighed tiredly.

"Well, _technically_ your clothes should be cleaner now than they were before." Derek pointed out with a smile. "You owe me one for doing your laundry."

"No. _Technically_, my clothes are ruined, and you're a big fat jerk!" Casey yelled. "And I was gonna meet Emily at 10, but now I have to choose a new outfit that _isn't_ sticky with soap, and take a second shower."

"A _second_ shower...?" Derek asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Casey said in annoyance. "Unfortunately, I didn't notice what you had done until I had already put my pants on. And I'm not going anywhere with my legs all smudged with green soap!"

"Derek, that was really unnecessary." Nora said.

"Yes, Derek." George said accusingly. "Stop wasting the soap, some people here actually use it to clean themselves with it."

Casey rolled her eyes and took her seat at the table, still glaring at Derek who currently was busy happily stealing Edwin's untouched toast.

"What I don't get is how you got inside in the first place." Casey muttered. "I know that I remembered to lock the door. On the contrary to George the other day..."

"George!" Nora said and looked at her husband in pure shock.

"It was an accident!" George claimed desperately. "I had worked all night and only had three hours of sleep. My brain was so worn out that I for one moment thought that we were a household of only guys again, and where Marti is too short to reach the handle..."

"Well, to answer your question Casey..." Derek interrupted and picked something up from his pocket. "You should know that bathroom doors don't stand a chance against a screwdriver."

Derek held up a screwdriver and spun it between his fingers, but then accidentally dropped it into his bowls of cereals. Derek seemed to be considering eating the cereals anyway, but then simply switched his bowl with Edwin, who stared at his brother with a spoonful to his mouth.

"And you should know better than to violate people's privacy!" Casey scolded him.

"... or their breakfast." Edwin mumbled and got up from his chair with his bowl and went to the sink to dispose of the screwdriver and uneatable cereals.

"Hey, that counts as extra iron. You should eat that up." Derek told his little brother.

"And probably some extra germs and rust too." Nora said with a light smile. "Put that away and take a new one, Ed."

"So, Casey." George said, trying to change the subject to a nicer one. "What are you and Emily going to do today?"

"_Boring_...!" Derek sighed before Casey got the chance to answer. "Dad. It's breakfast. Let's try and keep the dullness to a minimum so that I won't fall asleep less than an hour after I just woke up. Ok?"

"Fine. Then perhaps this will be less "boring" for you." Casey said sarcastically. "For the first time ever, I might actually get an F on my English assignment."

"What? Casey, why?" Nora asked in surprise.

"Because I can't find my paper, and it has to be in by tomorrow!" Casey explained, looking distressed.

"Oh, honey. When do you think you lost it?" Nora asked.

"That's the thing. I have no idea." Casey told her. "I finished it four days ago and left it on my desk so that I would know where it was."

"But, if you finished it four days ago then why didn't you turn it in, like… Four days ago?" Lizzie asked.

"I can't do that. What if I realize in the last minute that I need to change something?" Casey said. "But now I wish I had... I can't believe that I'm gonna have to tell Mr Anderson that I don't have the assignment. Maybe if I buy him flowers..."

"Casey, I'm sure it won't have to come to that." George said with confidence.

"Why do you say that...?" Casey asked uncertainly.

Everyone around the table turned their eyes to Derek, who looked up from his breakfast with a pretend shocked expression.

"Wait a minute... Are you really accusing _me_ for taking Casey's English paper?" Derek asked.

"And did you?" Casey asked threateningly, staring into the depths of her stepbrother's soul.

Derek didn't answer immediately, which was all the confirmation Casey needed.

"You _stole_ my English paper?!" Casey yelled.

"In my defense, you really should keep your stuff in a more secluded area." Derek replied.

"Like on _my_ desk in _m__y_ room?!" Casey asked upset.

"I was thinking more of a place where no one can nick them." Derek answered with a smile.

"Derek, if you have Casey's English assignment, then how about you go and get it for her." George said. "Like NOW."

"Well, I would _love_ to do that dad." Derek said sarcastically. "It's just that I don't _have_ it."

"What!?" Casey yelled, looking terrified. "What did you do to it?"

"Chill, Case." Derek said with a calming gesture. "Your paper is completely safe. I'm just saying that I don't have it on me. It's in my locker. In school."

"You are unbelievable!" Casey said, looking crossed. "So you were really planning to hand in my work and claim it as your own?"

"Ha, ha. Casey. Please." Derek said in with a laugh. "The teachers would know that it isn't mine after like reading the first sentence. And probably even before that, since it's six pages long."

"I suppose that makes sense..." Casey admitted. "And I'll take that as a compliment by the way."

"You're welcome." Derek said with a nod. "Don't expect any more of them this year."

"But in that case, why did you take it in the first place!" Casey asked angrily.

"Well, do you remember that you promised to help me get at least a B on my Spanish paper last week?" Derek asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Casey asked in confusion.

"You see, I didn't _get_ a B on that." Derek explained simply.

"So... What did you get?" Casey asked, still not quite following him.

"I don't remember, but I think it rhymed with "death"." Derek said.

"An F?!" Casey said in shock. "I helped you with that assignment! How could you possibly get an F?"

"Oh, Senora Sanchez told me exactly what I did wrong." Derek explained calmly. "But she was yelling most of it at me in Spanish, so of course I didn't get one word of what she was saying."

"I told you exactly what to do to _pass_ that assignment. And my explanation was in English!" Casey pointed out. "I can't believe how you managed to fail it anyway. Not even you should have been capable of that!"

"It's not difficult at all." Derek said honestly and leaned back in his chair. "You just give a teacher a paper without writing any actual _words_ on it."

"You handed in a blank paper? Why would you do that?" Casey asked with a raised eyebrow. "

"Maybe 'cause I thought that you were _finished_ with it?" Derek said sarcastically.

"Derek, I promised you that I would _help_ you with your assignment. Not do it for you." Casey said tiredly.

"Well I didn't know that...!" Derek said accusingly. "So now I have to make some kind of extra work till Friday, and it's totally messing up my schedule for the week."

"Is that's why you poured soap in my clothes this morning?" Casey asked. "As payback because I didn't write your Spanish assignment?"

"No, taking your _English paper_ was payback. The soap, well that I mainly just did for fun." Derek said with an amused grin at the thought of his earlier prank.

"Derek, you're gonna give Casey her English paper back the first thing in the morning, you understand that?" George said sternly.

"I got Hockey practice in the morning." Derek stated.

"Then skip it!" Casey said irritated.

"Not a chance." Derek stated seriously.

"Fine. Give me the combination to your locker, and I'll get it myself." Casey said.

"Case, there's no way that I'll _ever_ let you snoop around inside my locker." Derek said.

"George!" Casey said and turned to her stepfather for some kind of support.

"Don't get so over dramatic." Derek sighed in annoyance. "Meet me at the lockers at lunch, and I'll give you your lame English paper by myself. Does that sound good enough for ya?"

"I guess..." Casey admitted reluctantly. "But everyone will already have handed in their work by then-"

"So you'll be last one to do it. But I bet that you rather be last than not handing it in at all. Right Case?" Derek said with a smirk.

Casey answered him with a very disapproving look, but didn't say anything.

oOoOo

Monday morning.

"Derek!" Nora yelled up the stairs from the kitchen. "You drag yourself out of that bed now mister, or you'll be late for school!"

Nora quickly returned to packing the kids' lunches in a hasty manner, not entirely sure of what she put down in which bag.

"... and I don't have time to drive anyone to school right now." Nora mumbled, looking very stressed.

"Mom, why are you so stressed out?" Lizzie asked and watched her mother in slight concern of what she was getting for lunch today.

"Stressed? Oh, I'm not stressed. I'm just... Late." Nora answered and seemed to run out of options to what to pack for Derek to drink. "Very, very late... George, do you think Derek drinks coffee yet?"

"Nora, wasn't this supposed to be your day off?" George asked from his seat.

"I know, but it didn't quite work out that way..." Nora explained and simply packed a bottle of something that she hoped was apple juice, but might also have been olive oil. "I got a phone call early this morning from a client that I was gonna meet on Wednesday. But apparently, something came up and now she has to meet me today. And _preferably_ twenty minutes ago..."

"Ouch." George said sympathetically as he calmly finished his coffee.

"And as if that wasn't enough." Nora continued. "Lizzie and Edwin got a dentist appointment at lunch. Which means that as soon as I'm done with my client, I'll have to break every speed limit to get to their school in time, pick them up, and beg to God that the lunch traffic has decided to be late today."

"I have to go to the dentist today!?" Edwin cried out in shock.

"Didn't I tell you that...?" Nora asked uncertainly.

"NO!" Both Lizzie and Edwin shouted simultaneously.

"Well... This way you will only have to worry about it for a few hours." Nora said with a small smile.

"Good Morning!" Casey greeted as she entered the kitchen.

"Casey, you didn't happen to see if your stepbrother has awaken from his coma yet?" Nora asked.

"No, but I think I heard something heavy fall to the floor when you yelled earlier." Casey mused. "Might have been him."

Casey now noticed the small chaos of lunch material on the counter and gave Nora an uncertain look.

"Are you... In a hurry or something?" Casey asked.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Nora answered. "I got a meeting with a client about now, and later I have to drive Lizzie and Edwin to the dentist. I'm fully booked, to say the least."

"So why can't George take them?" Casey suggested.

"Oh, trust me I would if I could." George said and gulped down the last drop of his coffee and left his seat. "But I'm at work by then. Speaking of which, I have to leave... Um, now."

"But Casey, perhaps you could..." Nora began but was interrupted immediately.

"Mom. There's no way I can drive Lizzie and Edwin to the dentist on a 50 minutes long lunch break." Casey pointed out.

"You just have to drop them off there by 11:40. You don't even have to stay." Nora suggested.

"Are you just gonna leave us there!" Lizzie asked in horror.

"Okay, bad idea..." Nora admitted.

"And I don't have time, remember?" Casey said. "Thanks to Derek, I have to spend most of my lunch finding my English teacher and ask him to accept my paper. And knowing Derek, he's gonna wait till after he has finished his lunch before he cares to fetch it to me."

"Speaking of the devil..." George said with a frown. "Shouldn't Derek be here by now?"

Nora, Casey and George shared a look and then turned their heads to the stairs again.

"DEREK!" They yelled together.

A noise was heard from the second floor and within a minute, Derek was walking down the stairs, looking very tired, his hair a mess, and was pretty much dragging his feet behind him like if he didn't really have the energy to properly lift them.

"No skipping down the stairs today, huh?" George pointed out when Derek entered the kitchen.

"Not... Exactly." Derek answered with a strained smile as he took his seat at the table.

"I hope you got more energy than that for your breakfast, cause you have about ten minutes left to finish it." Nora said.

"Right, about that..." Derek said after taken one uneasy look at the food. "I'm gonna go ahead and skip breakfast today... I'm not really feeling that good."

"Derek, you're not staying home from school." George said deadpan. "Again."

"Whaat...?" Derek said in a whiny voice. "Oh come on, dad."

"Not. A. Chance!" Casey said with a threatening glare. "You _are_ going to school today, and you _are_ gonna give me back my English paper! Don't even think about coming up with lame excuses to stay home, cause I know that you'll try to!"

"Yeah, you'd think that's something I would do." Derek said with a small laugh but then immediately turned serious. "But no. Not this time."

"Knock it off, Derek." George said tiredly. "Just eat your breakfast and get ready for school."

"Actually, forget breakfast." Casey said after one look at her watch. "We have to leave now. And you're coming with me!"

Casey quickly took one last bite of her sandwich and then got up from her seat, grabbed Derek's arm in the process as she violently dragged him with her, making her stepbrother groan in reluctance.

"But Derek, don't you at least want something to eat on the way?" Nora asked as the teenagers left the kitchen.

"Oh please." Casey answered in his place and rolled her eyes. "Derek will probably eat his lunch as breakfast the second he's at school, and then he'll get some cute girl to share hers with him. I've seen it before. It's pathetic."

"That is unless he forgets his lunch at home." George said pointedly.

Casey was just about to put on her coat but stopped immediately as she realized what George was referring to. She rushed back to the kitchen, took her and Derek's lunch from the counter, and ran back to the hallway, where Derek made a meek attempt to put on his own coat but Casey quickly pushed him out of the door before he had the chance to.

"Thank you Mom George love you see you later bye!" Casey screamed before she slammed the door shut behind her.

The rest of the McDonald Venturi families sat in deathly silence before they slowly went back to eating their breakfast in peace.

"George... You don't think he was really sick do you?" Nora asked a bit uncertain.

"No, I seriously doubt that he was." George said confidently. "I mean, I've seen that kid play sick numerous of times before, and that was probably the worst attempt ever. Once he actually faked it so good that I even ended up calling an ambulance."

"Hey, I remember that!" Edwin said cheerfully. "Boy, I've never seen Dad switch so fast from crying and praying to furious and yelling."

"Then... Isn't that a bit weird?" Lizzie asked with a look at George. "If he's that good at playing sick, then why wouldn't he be this time?"

"I think Casey dragged him out the door before he had the chance to start coughing up blood." Edwin said with an amused smile.

"Yeah, what is it with the McDonald women and stress anyway?" George asked Nora. "You always seem to be in a rush or running late to something. Like mother like daughter I guess-"

"Oh my God the meeting! I completely forgot!" Nora yelled and ran out from the kitchen.

"_Exactly_ like mother like daughter..." George sighed and finished his cup of coffee.

oOoOo

"Dude, what was up with you on the training?" Sam asked as he and Derek was walking down the hallway.

"What are you talking about? Can't guy have one bad day from time to time?" Derek replied with a slight annoyed voice.

"Um, yeah." Sam said. "But to have a bad day, you actually have to _do_ something. Come on man, you were barely even moving during the game. Coach thought that you had frozen to the ice."

"So? I was... Checking out the girls in the audience." Derek said.

"You mean Mike's mom and little sister?" Sam said with a frown. "Um, for you information, she's married, and her daughter is nine."

Instead of answering, Derek let out a deep sigh and leaned to the closest wall for support. He looked a bit paler than normal and his forehead was damp of sweat. Sam stopped and looked at his friend with some concern.

"Hey dude, are you really okay?" He asked.

"Not so much, no..." Derek answered in a strained voice while holding his side.

"Do you want me to call someone...?" Sam asked uncertainly.

"Nah, forget it." Derek said with a dismissing gesture. "It's no big deal, I've probably just eaten something bad."

"Like what?" Sam asked.

"There _might_ have been something green and possibly fluffy on that sandwich I took last night..." Derek mused. "I better check it when I get home."

"You sure that you're okay, then?" Sam asked again.

"Yeah. Positive." Derek said with a stiff but confident smile. "And there's no one to call since no one is home yet anyway, so... Big waste of time."

"Well, if you say so." Sam sighed and looked at his watch. "Hey, next class starts in ten minutes, are you coming?"

"You know what? I think I'm gonna sit this one out." Derek said as he pretended to think about it.

"Figured as much." Sam said with a knowing smile. "See ya later, buddy."

"Yeah. Bye." Derek said, but didn't look up at Sam as he was too busy pretending that the pain in his side wasn't as bad as it felt...

oOoOo

**Next Time:** Casey starts wondering why her stepbrother hasn't showed up, and is in for a less pleasant surprise that she'll never going to forget…


	2. Chapter 2

Nothing's Wrong

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading this far! And here's the chapter you've been waiting for… Please read the Author's Note at the end of this text for further information about a possible chapter three. ;)

oOoOo

Casey was pacing around the lockers. Students were passing her on their way to their classes, meetings or whatever it was they were heading to. Casey tried to keep an eye on everyone that passed by, looking for someone that remotely reminded her of her "good for nothing" stepbrother, but so far no such luck. She stopped pacing and glared at the locker that belonged to Derek Venturi. So close and yet so far away...

She suddenly grabbed the lock and yanked it a few times, like if she expected it to fall right off as if hit by a magic wand, but the locker door was just as stubbornly closed as before. Casey sighed in annoyance and looked around. No sign of Derek yet. She felt furious!

If she didn't get her paper _now_, she would never have the time to search for Mr Anderson and hand it over to him before her next class started. And then she would have to wait until after school, and there was no guarantee that Mr Anderson would stick around till then.

Then she suddenly saw someone in the corridor that she recognized. Not Derek, but close enough. It was Sam. Sam, who was currently talking to some guy from the hockey team. Casey marched over to him, grabbed his arm, making Sam flinch in surprise, and dragged him a few feet away to get some privacy.

"Where is Derek?" Casey demanded to know.

"Um, hi Casey." Sam replied, looking confused.

"He promised that he would meet me here by lunch. But so far I've been waiting here for half an hour and he hasn't showed up!" Casey continued. "So? Where is he?"

"What makes you think that I should know?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh please. Don't act like you don't know where he is." Casey said and crossed her arms.

"I'm not acting." Sam said defensively. "I really don't know."

"What about your hockey training?" Casey asked, not entirely convinced yet. "You didn't meet him there?"

"Of course I did, but he left pretty soon after it." Sam explained. "We had a math class right after training, but he decided that he would skip it. Haven't seen him since."

"That little rat!" Casey said angrily. "He's trying to keep away just to mess with me. And knowing Derek, he probably figured that I would ask you to help me find him so he didn't tell you either. When I find him I am _so_ gonna-

"I... Don't think that's what happened." Sam interrupted. "Last time I saw him, he didn't seem to feel so great. And when I didn't even see him at lunch, I simply assumed that he had gone home."

"He can't have." Casey said puzzled. "He doesn't have any keys and nobody's home yet. Mom won't be back until after lunch."

"In that case... I _really_ don't have a clue where he went." Sam admitted.

"Well, Derek's current location aside..." Casey said. "Is there any chance that you know his locker combination so that I at least can get my paper back?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Sam said and walked over to Derek's locker.

"Maybe?" Casey asked confused.

"He keeps switching locks, so it's kinda hard to remember." Sam told her. "But wait, I might be able to..."

Sam reached out and tried a combination. Casey looked over his shoulder, silently observing what Sam was doing. It was deathly quiet. After a few turns, Sam tried one last number and... And the locker was still locked.

"It was worth a try." Sam said and took a step away. "Now I really need to hurry to class. See you later Casey."

"Yeah... See you later." Casey said a bit absentmindedly as she watched the lock.

Sam's words had just hit her. Had Derek played ill for Sam too? What was the point in that? Was he really taking this "sick" thing that far? To fool his best friend just to convince her too? No, something didn't feel right about that theory. And the part of her that was handling logic and rational thinking was only nagging about one thing: Maybe Derek really was sick?

Casey felt confused. She could always call Derek, but she didn't have a cell phone. She could borrow someone else's, but she didn't know his number. Quite understandable, if you think about. It wasn't like she used to talk to him on the phone. Ever.

She took a look at her watch. Great. Her class would begin in a minute. And here she was, waiting for the brother who never showed up. How depressing. She needed to find him! But was it worth missing the first few minutes of her next class?

"Ok..." Casey breathed. "Five minutes."

That was no big deal. People arrived five minutes late all the time. Her class would barely even have started, so she wouldn't miss anything important. She would lose some of her credibility as an overachieving and always early student, but she could afford it.

Just five minutes.

The next problem would be a little bit more difficult. She had no idea where to look. She started to walk along the corridor that was quickly being emptied on people. She needed a clue. Anything that could tell her where Derek Venturi possibly could be. She was still not convinced that he was truly sick, so if he _wasn't_, where would he hide? Where would he assume that she would never ever in a million years look for him.

The answer almost hit her in the face when a door was slammed open right in front of her. The sign on the door read one single thing. Girls' Restroom.

"Of course..." Casey said to herself. "I'm an _idiot_! Not more idiot than a certain someone, but god I feel so stupid for not thinking of that before!"

Casey ran in another direction. If there was one place in the whole school that she would never look, or even set her foot in, it was the boy's restroom. There was no guarantee that Derek would actually be there, but it was a theory as good as anyone. And she didn't really have that much to go on right now.

When she arrived at the door, she suddenly felt very uneasy. Coming up with the _idea_ to look for Derek in there was a piece of cake. But when it came to actually _look_ for him, it got a whole lot more complicated. She couldn't bring herself go in there. It was the _boys'_ restroom for crying out loud! As a girl, it was basically social suicide to go in there, or even be seen standing too close to the door!

Casey took a few steps away from it, like if the door was a hungry animal and she didn't want to risk to aggravate it. What to do? Casey took a look at her watch again. Five minutes almost up. Damn it!

Okay. She needed someone to go in there for her. Only problem was that the hallway now was almost completely empty on people. She scouted at the area for anything that was not female, and finally found it. She had spotted a stressed guy coming her way. She didn't remember his name. Rob, Roy, Ron... Something short that sounds like you're clearing your throat. Well, who cared? He was a guy, and that was the only thing that mattered.

As soon as Rob or whatever his name was, was close enough, Casey snatched his arm and dragged him towards her.

"Hi there!" Casey said in a giddy way. "I need you to check something for me."

"Wha- Who are you?" Rob asked, looking completely baffled.

"Doesn't matter." Casey said and pushed him towards the door. "Here. Can you check if Derek Venturi is in there? I can only assume that you know who _he_ is."

"Um, yeah." Rob said, looking very stressed. "But look. I'm gonna be late for class, and..."

"It will only take a second!" Casey said and simply pushed him inside and closed the door behind him. After a few seconds, Rob returned, looking anxiously at his wrist watch.

"Well?" Casey asked.

"There's is _someone_ in there. But if it's Derek or not, I can't tell." Rob answered. "Sorry, but now I really need to go."

Rob kept an arm's length away from Casey, as if he was afraid that she was gonna grab him again, and then hurried away in the opposite direction.

Casey sighed in frustration. That didn't help her much. The hallway was now completely empty on people, so she couldn't ask someone else to go in and look more thoroughly. Casey started to pace back and forth. It _could_ be Derek in there. But it could just as well be someone else, and in that case she would feel so embarrassed that she would have to ask her mom and George to find her a new school...

Casey paced a few times, looking very uncomfortable. She glanced at her wrist watch again. Six minutes late.

"Alright!" Casey said in a resolute voice. "The sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get back to class. Come on Casey. You. Can. Do it!"

A quick deep inhale for support, and then she opened the door and stepped inside.

Her first time in the boys' restroom was just as unglamorous as she had expected. It was considerably more drawings on the walls than in the girls restroom, and the whole atmosphere was simply just less comfortable. It was definitely not the kind of place you wanted to dwell in for too long. Except from those details, it wasn't too different. There were five stalls on the right and two washstands on the left. The floor was dark gray and the walls white. With tiny messages of who had been there before, names of girls that was hot or not, and crude drawings that Casey didn't want to spend too much time studying.

She walked pass the stalls and wondered how Rob knew for sure that there was someone in here? There was no way of peeking under the doors to see if there were any feet occupying a stall. Maybe if she called out and asked if there were anyone there?

Before she could make a decision, she heard a cough coming from the stall in the end of the room. She walked up to it and put her ear against the door.

"Derek?" She shouted and knocked carefully on the door. "Is that you?"

There was no answer.

Casey felt her face slowly turn red. What if it was someone else in there? Some random guy that she had never met before. Or even worse. Some random guy that she _knew_ and that would tell the whole school how Casey MacDonald had knocked on his door in the boys' restroom! Switching to a new school wouldn't be enough. She would probably have to leave Canada. She had an A in Spanish, maybe Mexico could be a fresh start… Suddenly, she heard another cough and a sound from the stall. This time there was no doubt about it. She'd recognize that voice anywhere.

"Derek!" She yelled and knocked furiously on the door, back to being angry again. "You open this door right now, mister! I know you've been trying to hide from me in here, so get out and hand over my English paper! I'm already ten minutes late because of you, and I'm not gonna let it be fifteen!"

There was a moment of silence and then the toilet flushed. A second later the door unlocked and was opened by none other than Derek Venturi. He was half standing half leaning against the door frame and looked very pale. He eyed Casey with annoyance, like if she was a salesman that just had awoken him from a pleasant nap. Or on the other hand, Derek didn't look like he had had a very pleasant day at all. His eyes was a bit bloodshot and his hair was just a mess. Not his normally messy hair, but rather the way it tend to end up like after a rough night's sleep.

"God, look at you." Casey said in surprise. "What have you been up to? Are you trying to scare someone?"

"Don't you have class right now or something...?" Derek asked with a tired voice.

"Don't you?" Casey said.

"Yeah, but on the contrary from some certain _others_, it doesn't really bother me if I miss out on one or two." Derek answered. "Or three for that matter..."

"What do you mean "three"? Haven't you been to _any_ class today?" Casey asked in shock. "Do you have any idea what George is gonna do when he finds out? Cause he _will_ find out, Derek! What are you planning to tell him, huh?"

"Can we... Talk about this later..." Derek mumbled with an exhausted voice. "Please?"

"No." Casey said resolute and folded her arms. "No, I will not talk about this later. And you broke our deal by the way! You promised me that I would get my papers back at lunch, which I _skipped_ just so that I could wait by your locker the whole time. And guess who never showed up! I knew you were a big jerk, but I've always thought that you at least stood by your word!"

"Stop _scream__ing_ at me...!" Derek groaned with his eyes closed.

"What's up with you? You look like you're suffering from the world's worst hangover." Casey said and then her eyes boggled in shock. "Are you _drunk_!?"

Derek gave her a look of such deep disbelief that Casey quickly changed her tone.

"Alright, alright! I just had to ask..." Casey answered with her palms out in a defensive gesture.

"Then stop asking stupid questions...!" Derek said in annoyance.

He gritted his teeth slightly and Casey noticed know that he was sweaty and was holding his stomach with his right hand as if he was in pain.

"Derek seriously, are you really sick?" Casey asked.

"Seriously _Casey. _Do you think you could leave me alone?" Derek replied in a tired voice, but still somehow managed a sarcastic tone.

"You really are, aren't you?" Casey said, ignoring Derek's last sentence. "I know you like to put on a show when you play sick, but there's no way you would take it this far. Not to mention that you haven't even made one single joke about the fact that I'm currently in the boys' restroom."

Derek didn't bother to answer this time, maybe because it took too much of an effort. He had closed his eyes again and he was breathing considerably heavier. Casey started to look worried.

"What's wrong?" She asked and eyed him carefully, her eyes landing on Derek's waist. "Is it your stomach?"

"It's nothing." Derek finally said, though whatever it was, talking seemed to only make it worse.

"Should I get someone?" Casey asked. "Maybe a teacher could-"

"I'm _fine_." Derek replied with growing irritation.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be acting this way." Casey stated in her best know-it-all voice.

"Well, maybe I'm just doing this for the fun of having your annoying voice nagging repeatedly in my ear." Derek said with a strained smile and glared at Casey, who couldn't care less about her step brother's attitude.

"Do you really want me to leave?" Casey asked with a sigh.

"_Yes._" Derek answered with an exhale. "Please do..."

"I dunno..." Casey said, looking uncertain. "I mean, if you're not feeling well it would be very irresponsible of me to just leave you here. And even though you clearly don't want my help, that's just nothing that I would do. It's not very much like me."

"I won't tell anyone I promise! Just _go_." Derek almost begged her. "I'll hand in your stupid English assignment myself, if you just leave me alone...!"

"Fine. I guess I'm going then." Casey said a bit frustrated and turned to the door. "And now I really _am_ fifteen minutes late for class, thanks a lot for that! I don't even have a good explanation! It's not like I can say that I were busy looking for my idiotic step brother in the boys restroom and-"

Derek suddenly cried out in pain and dropped to the floor. Casey immediately turned around and saw Derek clutching his stomach and slowly trying to drag himself up into a sitting position, breathing heavily and grimacing in pain. She ran over to him and helped him lean his back towards the wall, his hands still around his stomach as he was making sounds of great discomfort.

"Derek? Derek, what happened?" Casey asked, and was starting to feel really worried now. "And don't you dare use that macho attitude of yours! It won't work! Just tell me the truth for once!"

"My... stomach hurts..." Derek muttered, his voice half muffled in pain.

Casey took a breath to calm herself. Alright, it wasn't much of an answer but at least he didn't say "fine", so they were hopefully on the right track.

"Okay, okay... Um..." Casey said, not sure what to do next. "Do... Do you have any idea why?"

"No..." Derek groaned.

"Perhaps you've just eaten something bad?" Casey guessed. "You never check the date on the milk, or the bread for mold, or stuff like that... Maybe your lazy habits just finally got the better of you?"

"I didn't eat anything this morning, remember...?" Derek pointed out tiredly. The pain seemed to ease a bit.

"Alright. So... We can probably scratch the breakfast off the list..." Casey said, thinking really hard. "Come on Casey, think now... What can cause stomachache... Maybe something like... Oh my god! What if you've been poisoned!?"

"Casey. Seriously." Derek said in a deadpan voice.

"I _am_ serious! " Casey said upset. "Do you know how many men that get poisoned by old girlfriends every year? Listen, did anyone here give you their lunch? An ex of yours, or some ex's boyfriend...? I've heard that if you swallow something toxic you should try and throw up to get rid of it. Like... Stick a finger down your throat."

"Already puked a couple of times in there." Derek answered tiredly and nodded towards the restroom stall. "And no fingers needed."

"Ew…" Casey said with an uncomfortable look. "Um, okay…Let's take a more scientific approach on this. How is the pain?"

"Painful…?" Derek answered in annoyance.

"No, no. I mean what kind?" Casey explained. "I've read about this in a book once. The type of pain is very important when determining the cause of it. So help me out here… Is it a stabbing kind? Or throbbing? Burning? Or perhaps-"

"It's _pain_, Casey!" Derek snapped.

"Hey! I'm trying to help you here, so try and be a little helpful yourself!" Casey said, equally annoyed.

Derek then suddenly doubled over with an agonizing cry and slipped down on the floor again. He was lying on his side and started writhing in discomfort, his breathing mixed with low whimpers. Casey was beginning to look desperate.

"Okay, just stay here. I'm gonna get the school nurse." Casey said and hurried towards the door.

"NO! Nononono... NOT her!" Derek suddenly shouted, and desperately tried to get up from the floor, but with little success since he didn't want to let go of his stomach with his hands.

"Why not?" Casey asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because she hates me!" Derek explained and looked truly scared by the mere thought of Casey fetching the school nurse.

"... What did you do?" Casey asked with narrowed eyes.

"Nothing!" Derek assured her and then grimaced as a new flash of pain suddenly hit his abdomen. "... serious anyway. The woman doesn't possess one single cell of humor in her body. And she has a massive one!"

"And I suppose that you told her that, didn't you...?" Casey said knowingly.

"She's the size of a minivan!" Derek said with a voice that was out of breath. "I _might_ have implied that she ate a first year once..."

"And with "implied" you mean...?"

"... drew a picture of it and put it up on the message board." Derek admitted. "Trust me, I'm way better off without her..."

"Derek, you could be really sick!" Casey said. "You have no idea what caused this. She can probably help you."

"And what exactly do you think she can do about this?!" Derek yelled but immediately flinched in pain.

"I don't know! Something!" Casey yelled back.

"Not... her. Okay?" Derek asked in a strained voice and rolled over to his other side, his eyes tightly shut. "Please not her..."

Casey sighed. Derek wasn't making anything easier. The school nurse would most likely have a better idea of what to do in this kind of situation, but if Derek wasn't gonna cooperate it would only be a waste of time. He looked really pitiful now. Derek had curled up like a ball in the corner, still squirming on the floor and clutching his stomach dearly with both his hands.

"What do you want me to do, Derek?" Casey asked desperately. "Should I get a teacher, should I call 911 or... For god's sake, just tell me what to do."

Derek didn't answer. The pain was too much for him and he couldn't handle it anymore. Talking hurt too much. The only thing he could do was to try and manage the pain, and prey for it to go away.

"Alright, Derek." Casey said nervously. "I want an answer now, or else I'm simply gonna go ahead and do what I think is the right thing to do. Which may or may not involve nurse Nightmare. Do you understand? Good. I'll go and fetch the first best grown up I see and bring him or her back here so that-"

Derek gripped her arm before she got the chance to leave. He was staring at her, his breathing heavy and his face pale and sweaty.

"Casey..." Derek said, his voice dead serious but his eyes pleading. "Get... dad."

Casey could hear the desperation in Derek's words. She was temporarily paralyzed by Derek's unexpected request, but quickly recovered and slowly got down on her knees beside Derek. He had let go of her arm now and gone back to rolling over to the side, groaning in pain.

"Right, I will..." Casey answered and looked uncertain. "Um... I'm just gonna need to borrow a phone..."

Casey crawled over to Derek and picked up his cell phone from his left pocket. He seemed to barely even notice her presence anymore. Casey quickly got up on her feet and then started to check the numbers in his contact list. He'd better have George's number saved... Casey didn't know it by heart. She had never needed it before.

After been reading through the contacts for a while, Casey started to feel the panic come crawling. Derek had an enormous amount of numbers in his phone. The list went on and on forever. And almost two thirds of them, hardly surprisingly, belonged to girls. The rest was both hockey team members and probably people he had met on various kinds of parties, because Casey didn't recognize even half of these names from their school. But what worried her most was that she couldn't find any "Dad" or "Father" or even "George" in the list. She was just about to give up when she reached the names on the letter "O" and encountered a number entitled "Old man". Casey exhaled in relief and pressed the call button.

There was five, six, and even seven signals, and then the call was redirected to voice mail Damnit! Casey dialed the number again and waited. Four, five, six, seven... Voice mail. For god's sake! Casey started to feel frustrated. She had found the number. The only thing George had to do was to pick up! He had to do it sooner or later, and she could be _very_ stubborn... After repeating the procedure six times, George's voice suddenly answered after only a half signal.

"For crying out loud, Derek!" George yelled. Wow. He sounded really angry. "Can't you tell that ignoring your first five calls might indicate that I'm too busy to talk right now?! What could you _possibly_ want that can't wait till-"

"George...? It's me." Casey interrupted a bit uncertainly.

"Casey?" George said, too surprised to sound angry anymore. "Um, hi. I'm so sorry for my little outburst there. Derek use to call me sometimes during school hours and ask me to help him cheat on his tests... Wait a second, why are you on Derek's phone?"

"I borrowed it." Casey answered. Now when she actually was talking to George, she wasn't sure what to say.

"Does he know about it?" George asked in a conspiracy voice. "You could get in real trouble if he finds out. I'm warning you Casey, you don't want to give him a _reason_ to get back at you. It'll end messy, and Nora and I will have to clean it up and-"

"You have to come to school and pick up Derek." Casey interrupted.

"What?" George asked in a puzzled voice. "What are you talking about?"

"I think he's sick." Casey said, trying to find some strength in her voice, but the truth was that it for some reason was hard to explain this to George. "And I mean _really_ sick. I don't think he's faking it, I doubt he would go this far..."

"How far exactly?" George asked his voice serious in a way you rarely heard George speak.

"Um..." Casey said, trying find the right words. "He said that his stomach hurts. And not just in a normal way, he actually collapsed on the floor because of it I think... And he mentioned something about that he had thrown up earlier. I think he's telling the truth, George. He's pale as a sheet and all sweaty and stuff..."

"Well... What else? When did it start? Do you know the cause?" George asked. "Is it something he ate or drank, or... Come on Casey, you have to give me something more to go on."

"I don't know!" Casey answered, her voice broke halfway through the sentence. "I don't know what to do! And I was really hoping that you could tell me, 'cause I'm freaking out here! I usually have a solution for everything, but this time, I'm completely out of ideas! I would give the phone to Derek himself so that he could explain it to you, but he is lying on the floor and I seriously doubt that he can even talk right now! I've never seen him like this, George, and I can honestly not stand it for much longer. So please just tell me what I should do?"

Casey hadn't noticed it until just now, but she suddenly felt tears running down her cheeks. Probably a reaction to the pressure in the situation mixed with stress.

"Alright, I'm sorry Casey..." George apologized sincerely. "Is... Is there any teacher there? Have you told any teacher about this?"

"Derek didn't want a teacher. He wanted me to call you." Casey said in a small voice.

"He did?" George said slowly, in a mix between shock and worry. "Dear god... Alright, I'll be there in 20 minutes. But if he can't wait that long, you're getting a teacher immediately and they'll decide what to do. No matter what Derek says, you hear me! He's the last person you should listen to right now. In the meantime, just... stay with him, okay? I see you soon!"

Before Casey had the chance to say anything, George had hung up. She starred at the phone for few seconds before she snapped out of her trance and put it in her pocket. She noticed her reflection in the restroom mirror and reacted to it immediately. She had visible traces of tears running down her cheeks. She quickly wiped them off with both her hands. She was not about to show anyone, Derek in particular, that she couldn't handle a strong situation. This was due to pure stress, that's all. She was _not_ crying because she was worried about Derek, and she didn't want to risk any misunderstandings about that.

Casey turned back to Derek. He had rolled over again and was lying on his back now with his hands simply resting on his stomach rather than holding on to it. His eyes were closed and he was panting in quick short breaths, obviously still in some pain but at least he had stopped writhing from it.

"I talked to George." Casey informed him, trying to sound casual. "He said that he'll be here in 20 minutes, so you'll have to hold out till then."

"Really...?" Derek panted, his eyes still closed and with the faintest sign of sarcasm in his voice. "That means he either thinks that his car is the only one left on the planet, or he's not planning on paying attention to the speed limits along the way..."

"Are you feeling any better?" Casey asked and knelt beside Derek.

"No..." Derek said in a muffled voice as he gritted his teeth the second a new wave of pain came over him, making him squirm in discomfort and clutch his stomach a bit tighter.

"Have you thought anymore about what could have caused this?" Casey asked, more as a way to start a conversation and keep Derek's mind occupied. "Remember that time when I had my appendix removed? My stomach _really_ hurt back then too. Maybe that is your problem?"

"Casey. There's no _way_ that my appendix is as lame as yours." Derek stated, still without opening his eyes.

"You have no way of knowing that." Casey pointed out.

"Whatever..." Derek muttered, and started to pant slightly.

"Can I get you anything?" Casey suddenly blurted out.

"A bed? Painkillers?" Derek asked deadpanned. "My dignity back...?"

"I was thinking more of something like water from the tap...?" Casey answered and tried her best to make it sound tempting. "Nice, cold water...?"

"Well, thanks for the thought Case." Derek said with a strained smile. "But I have a hunch that if I drink it, it's not gonna stay down for very long."

"Fine... No need to get graphic..." Casey said with an uncomfortable look on her face.

Derek didn't reply to her and started to breathe heavier, like if the pain was staggering again.

"So... How did the hockey training go this morning!" Casey asked eagerly in a nervous voice."

Derek looked up slightly and eyed her suspiciously.

"Are you asking these questions just to keep me talking...?" Derek panted accusingly.

"No, no. No reason at all." Casey said in a hardly convincing voice.

"I'm _not_ dying, you know." Derek kindly pointed out.

"I know that. But... Don't you just hate awkward silence?" Casey said with an encouraging smile.

"I don't really feel like talking right now..." Derek mumbled and closed his eyes again.

Casey was starting to look nervous again. She glanced at her wristwatch. Still fifteen minutes till George would be there. But at least Derek didn't seem to get any worse, so that was a good thing. One good thing to cling to. That was all she needed.

"Well... Could you at least tell me your locker combination so that I can get my English paper back?" Casey suggested, half jokingly. "Something tells me that you won't get the chance to hand it over to Mr Anderson today, so I'd better do it myself."

"Sorry Case, but my locker combination is something that I'm taking with me to the grave." Derek answered

"Hey! You said that you weren't dying!" Casey scolded Derek. "No hangman humor, is that clear? This is scary as it is already..."

"It was just a figure of speech." Derek said tiredly, and apparently hadn't meant the sentence to be funny. "Geez, stop being so overly sensitive..."

"I'm not overly sensitive!" Casey said defensively. "I'm _normally_ sensitive. Just so you know."

"Sure. If you say so." Derek said, still with his eyes closed and didn't seem to be paying that much attention to his surroundings.

He was lying flat on his back with his hands resting on his stomach again. Casey felt very uncomfortable everytime Derek was acting this way. It was so uncharacteristic, and it worried her more than she'd liked to admit. She folded her arms, walked forth and back for a bit before she snapped and turned around.

"Come on now, Derek!" She coaxed. " Don't just lie there. Please? Just... Do something already. Get that lazy butt of yours up from the floor! Can you walk?"

Derek didn't even bother to open his eyes. Casey sighed and crouched beside him.

"Can you stand?" Casey asked.

Derek opened his eyes this time, only to give her a very skeptic look.

"Can you walk if I help you stand up first?" Casey asked.

Derek answered with a deep sigh that indicated that he was more than less interested in this conversation.

"Oh, please. Will you lay off that bad attitude already!" Casey said stubbornly and grabbed one of Derek's hands. "Come on! Just give it a try!"

Derek turned out to be very reluctant to this whole thing, but didn't protest to it. Not exactly being the strongest girl in the school, Casey apparently still had the strength needed to pull her stepbrother up from the floor and help him steady himself against her left shoulder. The act made Derek start breathing heavily again, but not too serious.

"Well... I think that went alright. Do you feel alright?" Casey asked nervously with Derek's right arm around her neck to keep him up.

"... Sure." Derek answered deadpan, looking a little bit sick.

"Ok... Um... Wanna try and take a step?" Casey suggested.

"Yeah, why not..." Derek said, though not sounding too enthusiastic about it.

Casey kept acting as a support for Derek as they walked towards the door. But only after a few steps, Derek suddenly let out a cry of pain and doubled over, still holding on to Casey for support. Casey stared at him in panic, frozen on the spot.

"Oh my god, oh my god... Derek?" She said. "Are you alright? What can I do? Just tell me if there's anything you need me to do."

"I need you to put me down or I'm gonna puke again..." Derek groaned with a thick voice.

Casey immediately helped him back to the corner and Derek slumped back down on the floor again.

"Ok, maybe that wasn't such a great idea..." Casey admitted uneasily.

"No..." Derek panted. "That idea sucked...!"

"I was just trying to help!" Casey said defensively.

"Then help me by stop _ta__lking_ so much, ok...?" Derek said with gritted teeth.

"Fine..." Casey said with a reluctant gesture. "I'll just... Sit here and be quiet till George gets here."

She rested her back against the wall next to Derek and sunk down to the floor, hugging her knees. The minutes passed by silently. Casey was fiddling with her nails absentmindedly, and Derek was lying on his back, looking as pale as ever. Casey looked up and studied him a little closer. He was actually very pale... Had he been this pale before? And he wasn't moving either.

"Derek...?" Casey asked carefully and nudged his shoulder lightly.

Why wasn't he moving? How long had it been now? This couldn't be right. Something was definitely not right!

"DEREK!" Casey yelled, a little louder than she had meant to.

Derek's eyes snapped open as he woke up and immediately flinched in pain, making him roll over to his side.

"_What_?!" Derek yelled back, looking both exhausted and irritated.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" Casey said with an apologetic face. "I-I thought you were..."

"What? Deaf!?" Derek asked in annoyance.

"... I'm so sorry...?" Casey said awkwardly.

Derek sighed and rolled over on to his back again, his breathing still shallow. Casey scooted a little closer, looking a bit worried.

"Are you feeling any better...?" Casey asked carefully.

"I thought you were gonna stop talking." Derek breathed.

"Is that a no?" Casey asked.

"Yes..." Derek answered in a low voice. "So could you _please_ stop asking a bunch of questions? I'm not exactly in the mood to answer them right now."

"But if you don't talk I'll think that you've died on the spot or passed out or become unconscious or... Something else!" Casey said defensively. "And I don't want that!"

"What, you're saying that you _care_ about me?" Derek said, and even though it probably hurt, he managed a teasing smile.

"Don't be silly, of course I do!" Casey said annoyed in a matter of fact voice and folded her arms. "I don't care when you get what you deserve once in a while, but it's not like I want you to die! And I would probably show it more often if you weren't such a jerk all the time!"

"Noted." Derek said and closed his eyes again.

Suddenly, there were steps right outside in the corridor. Casey turned to Derek who looked directly at her with growing panic. Apparently he had also heard them.

"Maybe it's George…?" Casey suggested.

Derek didn't say anything and deep down Casey knew that there was no way that George could have gotten there already. And even if he did, he certainly wouldn't be walking this calmly knowing that his son could be really sick.

Casey sneaked up to the door and opened it a little. She could see a guy coming her way, and it looked like he was aiming for the restroom.

"Derek!" Casey whispered. "There's a guy out there and I think he's gonna use the restroom! What do we do?"

"Don't let him in!" Derek whispered back. He was breathing even more heavily now than before. "Whatever you do, _don't_ let him in here…!"

"And how exactly am I supposed to stop him from doing that!?" Casey yelled as low as she could.

"I don't know! You're smart, use your brain and think of something!" Derek answered looking stressed.

"You're giving my brain way too much credit! This has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm good at!" Casey yelled angrily.

"Casey, listen to me." Derek said a little calmer. "My reputation is on stake here…! Since you're not cool, I don't expect you to know this, but being caught in fetal position on the restroom floor is not a good way to maintain that."

"And since you're a jerk I don't expect you to know this, but if anyone would find out that I've been in the boys' restroom instead of going to class I will never be able to show my face in this school ever again!" Casey yelled back at him.

"Okay, I think at least one of us needs a serious reality check-"

"You showed up at school in nothing but a bathrobe and PJ's! Which one of us really needs a reality check here?" Casey said upset. "Trust me, your reputation will survive this too."

Casey then turned around and took a quick peek outside.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no…! He's right outside…!"

Casey quickly grabbed the door handle the same second it was pulled down by the person from the outside.

"What the…?" Said the guy on the other side and tried to open the door, but Casey wouldn't let it. "Hey, come on man…! I really need to go!"

"Derek! What do I do?!" Casey whispered in desperation as she was keeping the door closed with all the strength she could muster.

"Just… Keep the door closed, Case! You're doing great." Derek said, trying to sound reassuring.

"No, I'm not doing okay!" Casey retorted angrily. "He's a guy, and I'm girl! I can't hold this door forever!"

"Yes you can!" Derek said sternly. "Trust me, he's gonna get tired of this any second and then move on-"

"I'm not leaving until you open this door, you hear me?!" The guy yelled. "I mean it, dude! Just open the door already…!"

"… Okay so he's the stubborn type. This is not good…" Derek sighed.

"No! This is a nightmare…!" Casey said with anguished expression. "An absolute nightmare. Only that instead of ending up in school in nothing but my underwear, everyone is gonna talk about how Casey MacDonald skipped class to lock herself in the boys' restroom with her stupid stepbrother…!"

"I don't think they're gonna refer to me as stupid …" Derek pointed out.

"I'm being teased enough as it is, I don't need this too!" Casey whimpered. "How did I get myself into this mess…I don't even wanna _know_ the rumors and nicknames I'm gonna get after this… I don't want any more nicknames! I just wanna be known as Casey!"

The guy on the other side made another attempt to force the door open, and Casey barely managed to keep it closed.

"Oh just go away already…!" Casey mumbled in impatiently. "Why does he have to be so persistent…!? There are plenty of other restrooms! Go do your business there!"

Derek looked at Casey for a moment. He then suddenly shifted and got up on his knees, making Casey look at Derek in confusion.

"Derek, what are you-"

"Hold that thought…" Derek muttered in a strained voice as he grabbed the nearest washstand for support.

He had soon dragged himself up on his feet, the effort making him pant heavily and Casey was almost positive that he was going to faint. But he didn't. And while holding his stomach with one hand and grabbing hold of the washstands with the other whenever he was about to lose his balance, he finally made it to the door.

"Get behind me…" Derek said to Casey.

"What for? Derek, what are you planning to-"

"Just do it now before I start puking again…!" Derek said in annoyance.

Casey hesitated only a second before she quickly got behind the door. As soon as she was out of sight, Derek opened the door slightly.

"Well, finally…!" The guy on the other side said, but immediately froze in midsentence when he recognized Derek.

"Did you want something? Besides being annoying, that is…?" Derek asked with a subtle glare.

"No, I'm… I'm sorry." The guy said, not sure what else to add. "I didn't know it was you in there. I mean, of course I didn't… But if I had, I can assure you that I wouldn't be so… so…"

"So much of an idiot. I get it." Derek said with a strained smile. "Now, if you would be so kind and leave, I would highly appreciate that."

"But I-"

"Get." Derek said with a glare. "Leave. Be gone. Or did you forget something in here that you want me to go get for you?"

"No…! No, I'm… Alright, I'm leaving." The guy said and started to back away. "I'll just… Use another restroom then."

"Try the girls'. They got soap." Derek said with a smile.

Casey's head popped out through the door under Derek's to see if the coast was clear.

"Has he left?" Casey whispered and looked both right and left as if she was planning to cross a street. "I just want to make sure. He left, didn't he…?"

"Actually, he said he's just going to pick up some buddies and be back in a minute." Derek sighed and rolled his eyes as he pushed Casey's head back behind the door. "Relax, he's gone..."

"Ok, good." Casey said and looked at Derek with a small smile. "Did… You just make an effort to protect me from being ridiculed by the whole school, or were you just trying to save your own butt?"

"Casey, please." Derek snickered as if the answer was obvious, but didn't elaborate on what he meant.

"Well… Despite what you say, I want you to know that I appreciated it." Casey said. "Thank you, Derek. It meant a lot."

Derek made a pained expression and looked almost like if he was going to be sick.

"Oh come on." Casey said indignantly. "You can't even accept a simple token of appreciation without making a joke about it? I really thought you were a little more mature than-"

"Casey…!" Derek breathed in slight annoyance. "Not joking. Just a very, _very_ painful stomach right now…! Try to keep up here…"

"I am keeping up!" Casey said in annoyance. "And you shouldn't have gotten up from the floor in the first place. Even if it was for a good cause, it was still a risky and stupid thing to do in your condition. Look at you; you're in even worse shape than before…!"

"Why do you always find a way to blame everything I do on me…?" Derek complained.

"I dunno. I guess I just happen to be exceptionally good at it." Casey said and folded her arms.

"Can't argue that…" Derek admitted but seemed to barely be listening as he closed his eyes and tried his best to think of something else.

"You look kinda pale." Casey noted and eyed her brother. "Are you sure you don't wanna sit down?"

"No… No, I just…" Derek stuttered, but he didn't seem to be even half aware of what he was saying. "I'm… I'm just gonna…"

Derek suddenly gasped and clutched his stomach with both his hands, his back pressed against the wall. He breathed through gritted teeth and every inhale seemed to be a struggle for him. Casey's expression immediately changed into a worried one and she hesitantly put a hand on Derek's shoulder in a small attempt to comfort.

"Ok, ok. Calm down, Derek." Casey rambled. "Just breathe, relax and breathe… I'm sure it'll pass if you just-"

Derek cried out in pain and dropped to his knees with an anguished sound. Casey flinched from this reaction and stared at her stepbrother in fear. Derek's breathing was now shallow and quickened from the pain and caused him to roll up into a ball on the floor.

"Derek, talk to me." Casey pleaded in desperation. "Tell me what's going on, 'cause I'm freaking out right now…!"

"I think..." Derek breathed and tried to hold back another urge to cry out. "... I think it just got worse..."

"What do you mean 'worse'?" Casey asked.

Derek didn't answer, but instead started to writhe in pain again, still holding his stomach.

"Derek?" Casey asked with a frown. "What's going on, are you alright...?"

Derek's eyes suddenly snapped open, this time with a look of panic. He hurriedly rolled over to his other side, seemingly trying to get away from Casey. She looked at him in confusion, and was just about to repeat her question when she heard a couple of quick breaths from her stepbrother and then the unmistakable sound of vomiting. She stared at him with big eyes.

"Oh god... Oh god..." She began with an awkward voice, watching Derek's body spasm in discomfort as his body tried to dispose of his stomach content, unable to control himself. Casey remembered how he had mentioned briefly that he had thrown up earlier too. But she had a strong feeling that this was worse than before.

When the retching was over, it was followed by several coughs, and he tiredly tried to drag himself up on his elbows. His panting become more rapid and irregular and he clutched his stomach again as he rolled over to the other side, whimpering in pain.

"No, nonono..." Casey said nervously. "Derek, just relax! Okay? Just... Try and relax! It'll pass, I promise. Just stay strong."

But Derek had now started to kick his legs in pain and was groaning louder than before, gritting his teeth in discomfort. Casey made a small attempt to calm him down, but it was no use. Either he couldn't even hear her anymore, or he was hurting too much to care.

"Ok, that's it!" Casey said in a resolute voice. "I'm getting a teacher! This is clearly getting out of hand, and I'm not waiting another minute for..."

The cell phone rang. Casey picked it up immediately and answered it without even looking at the display.

"George! This better be you!" Casey yelled in the phone.

"Casey, I'm outside the school in one minute." George voice answered. "I just need to know where you guys are."

"Derek and I are in the boys' restroom." Casey answered, for the moment not caring about how weird that sentence sounded.

"The _boys'_ restroom?" George asked, confused for a second but decided to drop it. "I don't remember where that is, you'll have to come out and show me."

"Sure. I'll wait outside at the entrance." Casey answered.

"Great! Just hang in there, I'll-"

Casey quickly flipped the phone close before George could finish his sentence. Not to be mean, but she simply didn't want to give George a chance to ask her how Derek was doing. Since she frankly had no idea what to answer...

She put the phone back into her own pocket and got up from the floor.

"Okay, George is finally here." Casey sighed in slight relief. "Just wait here and I'll go to..."

Before Casey could take one step, Derek had grabbed her wrist with his right hand. Casey stared at him in surprise, but Derek wasn't even looking up. His eyes were still tightly shut, and his other hand was desperately clutching his stomach. It was like he had almost grabbed her arm subconsciously.

"I'm really sorry, Derek, but I have to go." Casey said and pried Derek's hand off her. "I'll be back before you know it, okay? It's only gonna take a second, I promise."

Casey hurried to the door, but took one last look at Derek before she closed it behind her.

"And don't you dare go and die on me while I'm away! You hear me!" Casey said warningly and then left.

She ran across the hall, not meeting one single person on the way. Everyone was stuck in class. Oh, how she would have loved to sit in class in the front row and listen to a teacher talking about the French revolution, or explaining Euclidean geometry. No decisions, no panic. Just quietly sit and simply be told what to do. She would have traded anything for that right now. Instead, she was in outside in the corridor running for her life. Or rather Derek's life, but she hoped that it wouldn't come to that.

It turned out that Casey didn't even have to leave the building to find George. Her stepfather had already let himself in and was now standing in the hall. Casey had never seen George like this. He looked haunted, as if he just had seen a very scary movie on TV, and his face had lost most of its color. He looked incredibly stressed, and the moment his eyes found Casey he immediately ran up to her.

"Where is he?" George asked, his voice calm but his face far from it.

Casey signed to him to follow her and they both ran back to the restroom where she had left Derek. She had a small nagging voice in the back of her head telling her about the chance that Derek could have died while she was gone. It was ridiculous, she knew that, but it didn't make her feel easier either.

When they arrived, Casey let George in first and then quickly followed him. Not surprisingly, the room was exactly like it had been when she had left it. Derek was still lying in his corner with his arms around his stomach, writhing on the floor and trying to hold back the worst of the pain, though not very successfully.

George knelt down beside Derek and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Derek!" George said, quite loudly. "Can you hear me?

He sounded very worried. More worried than Casey had ever heard him. She wasn't sure about it, but perhaps George had never seen his oldest son like this. It was enough to shock _her_, and she had only known Derek for just about two years.

"Derek, I swear to God... If this is all a just an act to skip school or pull a prank on your old man, I..." George went quiet, looking distressed. "... I really don't know what I'll do."

"If he really _was_ faking all this, do you think that he would admit it just like that...?" Casey asked curiously.

"Probably not." George said knowingly with a tired sigh and turned back to Derek. "Come on, Derek. Just say something, please..."

"... What the heck took you so long...?!" Derek said accusingly, without looking up.

"I'm sorry, I got here as fast as I could." George said apologetically, but seemed relieved to hear Derek's voice. "But I'm here now, so it doesn't matter... How are you feeling?"

"Not that good..." Derek muttered with a strained expression.

"Yeah, I heard." George said with a sad smile. "Care to tell me what happened?"

"I don't exactly feel like talking right now." Derek said tiredly with a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

"Then I guess it'll just have to wait till the hospital." George said and got up from the floor.

"The hospital?" Casey said in surprise. "Is it really that serious?"

"I don't know, Casey. But if it is, I'm not taking any chances." George said.

"I don't wanna go to the hospital!" Derek said, despite his earlier no-talking request and with a sudden look of panic in his eyes. "Forget it!"

"I'm sorry Derek, but you're not exactly in the position to make demands right now, as to speak." George said. "And would you rather keep being in this much pain?"

Derek just groaned in discomfort and didn't say anything.

"Then... Shouldn't we call an ambulance or something?" Casey asked.

"It'll take them fifteen minutes to get here. I'll be there in ten." George said. "Trust me. I'm a _very_ good driver. Or perhaps just a very fast one, if you ask your mother... Anyway, we better get you to the car. Can you walk?"

Derek and Casey replied simultaneously with a resolute "NO", making George look at them in confusion, but chose not to ask.

"Ok, that's alright. I'll help you." George said. "Come on, Derek."

When George reached out his hand to help him up, Derek flinched and shut his eyes tightly as he rolled over to his side.

"Derek?" George asked with a raised eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

When Derek didn't answer, George moved his hand to Derek's forehead instead. Casey noticed now how sweaty Derek really was. A detail she hadn't given much thought before.

"He's burning up..." George said in surprise. "Was he running a fever before?"

"I-I don't know. I never thought of checking it." Casey admitted. She didn't say out loud that Derek probably would have protested before she even got near enough to touch his forehead.

Derek's heavy breathing had worsened, and he was panting more than before. He then suddenly cried out again and curled up into a ball when the pain took a turn for the worse. Every breath sounded almost like a low whimper. George removed his hand with a look of deep sympathy and stroked Derek's hair in a comforting way.

"Alright..." George sighed and swallowed nervously. "The faster we get him to a hospital the better. Ok, here we go..."

George then carefully picked his son up in his arms, not without some effort, but as soon as he got a hold of Derek it seemed to get easier. Derek was pale and sweaty, but wasn't writhing as much in pain anymore. Just a slightly twitching now and then. Casey noted that Derek looked so much smaller laying in his father's arms like that. It was hard to believe that they in reality were roughly the same height.

"What can I do to help? Do you need any help? I can help!" Casey said, feeling a desperate need to be of some use.

"If you could lend me a hand with that door that would be nice..." George said with a slightly strained voice. "And perhaps the next one too, if you wouldn't mind... And the door to the car would probably be a good idea too."

The way back to the entrance was less than eventful, with the only exception that Derek suddenly had started to squirm halfway there, forcing them to make a quick stop till he had calmed down.

Finally at the exit, Casey followed George out to the car and watched him quickly lay Derek down in the back seat with George's jacket rolled together as a pillow. Casey looked through the car window at Derek, who didn't seem to be aware of anything that was happening around him. George closed the door and got in behind the wheel to start up the engine.

"Okay, um... I call you as soon as I know anything." George said. "I'm not sure when Nora will get home, but do you think you could inform her about this when she does? And try and not be too blunt in front of Marti... She will probably not take this very well. So if you-"

"I'm so sorry..." Casey interrupted, looking miserable.

"For what?" George asked, looking puzzled.

"For listening to Derek and not get the school nurse the same moment I saw that something was wrong!" Casey said. Of course she was blaming herself for this. She and her stupid brain that thought it was so smart but couldn't even tell when a person needed help.

"Casey..." George said in a kind voice. "If listening to Derek would be considered a crime, then half our family would be locked up indefinitely. It doesn't make me think less of you, not the least. A bit naive, perhaps. But... We'll work on that when we get home. You have nothing to be sorry for. On the contrary, I should be thanking you. God knows what could have happened if you hadn't..."

George went quiet, not that keen on pondering over the alternatives. Casey made a small smile in appreciation.

"Yeah... I guess." Casey said and then her expression changed into a sad one. "Though I kinda wish I hadn't... I don't think I've been so scared in my whole life."

George only smiled at her. He then closed the door and Casey watched him drive off. She simply stood by the side of the road, not moving an inch. The whole unpleasant experience was just setting in and making itself at home in her mind. A stream of questions ran through her head, but she decided that she didn't want to think about any of them yet.

As a way of distraction, she glanced at her wristwatch and jumped at the time. It was less than ten minutes left of her class. She had never realized that it had been that long. The time hadn't exactly been on her mind during this whole thing... It was hardly any use to go back to class now... And she wasn't exactly looking forward to tell the teacher and any eavesdropping classmate about what just had happened.

Suddenly, one thing came to her mind when she realized something.

"_Darn it!_" Casey exclaimed with an angry gesture. "My English assignment is still in Derek's locker!"

oOoOo

**Author's Note:** Now, I was thinking of adding a third chapter that deals with the aftermath of all this (Derek is gonna be fine, guys!), but I'm kinda swamped with school and life for the moment. So unless there actually are people out there who WANT a third chapter, I'm not gonna write one.

But if you enjoyed the story and really want a third chapter, just leave a review. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** I'm so sorry for the wait. ó-ò

The minute I realized that I had even five people following this story, I decided to take the time to finish it. Or at least give it a more proper ending instead of letting people worrying about whether Derek will be alright or not. The problem wasn't my motivation, it was the fact that I have to write a LOT in school too… But I've been free from schoolwork for almost a month now, and now I can finally give you, and anyone who has waited, an ending that I hope you'll like. ^-^

There will be two more chapters after this one. I am once again truly, truly sorry for the wait, and truly, truly, TRULY grateful for all the support. If you've read this far, you are absolutely amazing, and I don't think anyone of you realize how happy you have made me. Or how much all your comments and adding to favorites has meant to me. :) Thank you.

oOoOo

"Paul!" Casey yelled and stormed in to the school's guidance counselor's office. "I need your help. I got seven minutes before my next class starts, which gives you just about six minutes to give me some of that killer-advice of yours-"

Casey suddenly stopped in midsentence. Paul was sitting behind his desk as usual, and on the other side sat a girl that Casey recognized as a Hannah or Anna from the cheerleading team. They were both currently staring at Casey like if the tiny office just had been invaded by aliens.

"Casey…" Paul said with a tired sigh. "Is there any way I could persuade you to come back later when I'm not busy with another student?"

"No." Casey stated and slammed the door shut behind her. "This can't wait, Paul. I've already missed my English class today, my history class was a complete disaster, and I'm intending to learn at least something today before I go home!"

"Hey!" The cheerleader said indignantly. "Get in line, I was here first! My boyfriend and I broke up last week and this stupid school won't let me quit Spanish, even though he's is in that class and it's still awkward between us!"

"My stepbrother is in the hospital after literally passing out from pain in the restroom two hours ago and I have no way of knowing whether is dead or alive." Casey retorted.

The cheerleader went quiet for a moment and then quickly picked up her bag from the floor and hurried to the door.

"Ok, you first." She said before she disappeared.

Casey looked very pleased over herself and claimed the warm seat as her own while Paul stared at her, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Can you repeat that part about your stepbrother being in the hospital?" Paul asked with a frown.

"I'll get to that in a second." Casey said. "But first you must help me get through my next class. I just need some good words of advice so that I can focus-"

"Is it Derek? Is he sick?" Paul asked uncertainly. "When did you hear this? And more importantly, how come that I haven't heard of it-"

"Paul! This isn't about Derek!" Casey yelled at him. "It's about me! I can't concentrate in class. You should have seen me an hour ago; my brain is like a reeking, mushy pile of… Mushy stuff. The teacher asks me a question that I _know_ that I know the answer to, but instead of answering it I'm just sitting there like a dummy and can't come up with anything to say…! Do you know what I answered when the teacher asked me where Napoleon was born? The Canaries!"

"And… That's wrong?" Paul asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's not even the right country, Paul!" Casey scolded him. "You're working at a school for heaven's sake, I shouldn't have to tell you this!"

"The teaching part is the teacher's job!" Paul said in defense. "I'm here to help you students, but _not_ with your homework. So, now when we have established my skills, let's focus on the real problem here-"

"That's the problem! Focus. I can't focus in class." Casey told him. "I get distracted. I can't concentrate on the assignments. It's like being stuck in one of my nightmares... I have to pull through this before my last class, which will start in… Three and a half minute. So you got about two and a half minute to come up with something comforting and insightful to say and help me out of this mess once and for all. So bring it on Paul! Do your job as a counselor and counsel me!"

"_Casey_!" Paul said sternly in a loud voice to get the teenager's attention. "Go home."

"… Is it just me, or did you use up all your good advice on little miss I-broke-up-with-my-boyfriend-that-I-met-in-Spanish -class, cause that advice sucks!" Casey said.

"Casey, listen to me. Just take a deep breath, be quiet, and listen." Paul said calmly.

"This better go quick, because I have to be out of here in two minutes-"

"Ah, ah!" Paul said with a warning finger. "If you want my help, you got to let me do the talking for now. The more you interfere, the longer this is gonna take. And I'll be here till seven if I have to. Do you understand?"

Casey glanced at the watch on the wall with an anguished expression, but didn't say anything.

"Great." Paul said with a relieved sigh and folded his hands. "I'm gonna start by telling you a few things. After that you may ask some questions if you'd like, and after _that_ you are going home."

"But-"

"No buts! You are going home." Paul said seriously. "I'll talk to your teacher and explain the situation. You won't get in any trouble for not showing up to class."

"But that isn't the problem! I can still make it if I leave now!" Casey said with a panicky look at the watch and left her chair.

"Casey, please sit down..." Paul told her with a tired sigh. "Listen, nobody is expecting you to be here during these circumstances except _you_. You're obviously worried about Derek, and _that's_ why you're having problem to concentrate in class. And not to sound pessimistic or anything, but you _should_ be worried. You got a family member in the hospital, it's normal to feel scared. And you got to cut yourself some slack this time because you're not doing yourself or anyone else any favor by being here."

Casey looked stunned and didn't say anything. Paul looked at the watch and noted that Casey's class must have started by now.

"Go home, Casey." Paul repeated. "Be there for your family. They're the ones who are gonna need you the most right now. Not the school."

"Fine… I guess you're right." Casey reluctantly admitted and picked up her bag as she left the chair. "Thanks for the help, Paul."

"Anytime you need it. " Paul said and started to sort some papers in a pile. "And for what it's worth, from my personal experience I don't think there's anything in this world that's strong enough to take out Derek Venturi. Whatever it is, he can pull through it."

"Yeah, I hope so." Casey with a sad smile and left the office.

But you didn't see him back there, Paul…Casey thought when she closed the door behind her. Because before this day, she had never thought there was anything in this world that could bring Derek down either.

oOoOo

"We're home!" Nora announced when she stumbled inside the house with her arms filled with bags from the grocery store. "And any helping hands or arms would be highly appreciated…"

"I just don't get it." Edwin complained and massaged his jaw with a bitter look. "Two hundred years ago, the toothbrush wasn't even invented yet, and people were doing just fine without it!"

"Yes, Edwin. And then they lived a full life of forty." Nora told him. "And you have to start brushing your teeth better. Your dentist told me that you got the dental health of a stray dog."

Casey hurried down the stairs when she heard her family at the door. She had to tell them. She had already gone through in her head how she was gonna break the news, and she had used her time alone to come up with the perfect way to put it in words.

"Hi guys…!" Casey greeted them. "So… How was it at the dentist?"

"Great." Lizzie said with a smile that almost seemed to sparkle.

"Horrible." Edwin answered, still looking bitter. "I think they scratched out everything in my mouth except the teeth and a small string of flesh in the back…"

"Eww…" Lizzie said with a grimace at her stepbrother.

"How was your day, Casey?" Nora asked as she took off her coat. "Did Derek give back your paper, or did he flush it down the toilet first?"

"Um, actually there's something I have to tell you." Casey said with a nervous smile. "I'm not sure how to say this, but George had to pick Derek up at school and drive him to-"

"Caseeeeey!" Marti suddenly yelled and jumped out from behind Nora where she had been hiding and then threw her arms around Casey's waist.

"Marti…!?" Casey said in shock and stiffly returned the hug. "Hiii… I didn't see you there…"

"That was the point." Marti explained proudly. "Did you get scared?"

"I'm terrified." Casey said with a sincere smile. "I honestly can't imagine anything that would scare me more right now…"

"Derek isn't home? Sweet!" Edwin said in excitement. "I gotta check out his room. I can finally get my stuff back!"

"Casey, what exactly did you say about George and Derek?" Nora asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'll tell you right away, mom." Casey said. "Um, Marti… Why don't you go upstairs and play with your toys?"

"No! That's boring. I wanna hear about dad and Derek too!" Marti said stubbornly and clung to Casey's left leg in protest.

"All right then." Casey said with a nervous smile. "Well, you see… George had to suddenly leave work and pick up Derek at school to drive him to a… A slumber party."

"A slumber party…?" Edwin and Lizzie said simultaneously.

"That sounds fun!" Marti cheered.

"It is fun, Marti." Casey said reassuringly. "And since Derek is sleeping at a friend's house today, mom only has to cook for six people because Derek isn't coming home for dinner."

"Is that so?" Nora said with the same stiff smile, quickly realizing the rules of this game. "So, Casey... Could you tell us more about this slumber party? For example, who is this "friend" that Derek is staying with?"

"Oh, you don't know him- I mean her. _Them_." Casey said with a small laugh.

"Okay, so… Where is it held then?" Nora said, still smiling like a poker player that has no chance of winning.

"It's... It's in town." Casey explained simply. "It's a really, really big place. You can't miss it."

"And there are more guests there than just Derek, I assume?" Nora asked curiously.

"Oh plenty!" Casey confirmed cheerfully. "It's a very big party. In fact, there are so many people there that you'd think they would need a five floor building to fit them all inside!"

"Really?" Nora said, looking fairly confused now.

"Yeah." Casey said happily and continued. "And the party is so great; that Derek might even be gone for more than just one night!"

Nora stared at Casey, not smiling anymore and her eyes practically screaming. Lizzie, knowing her older sister very well, slowly realized what Casey was trying to say. She quickly turned to Marti.

"Come on, Marti. Let's put the groceries in the refrigerator before they go bad." Lizzie coaxed.

The girls took one bag each and left the room while Marti chirped about the super big and super great slumber party she was gonna have at her birthday. The moment the girls were in the kitchen, Nora turned to Casey and took her aside.

"Ok, Casey. Would you _please_ tell me what's going on before I call the police and ask them if they got any fresh bodies that need to be identified?" Nora asked in a low voice.

"Derek got sick at school and George had to drive him to the hospital and I haven't heard from them since." Casey answered quickly, looking anxious.

"_Wh__at__!?"_ Nora said, her whispering voice turning sharp in shock. "When did this happen?"

"Maybe five hours ago…?" Casey said. "Derek kinda just collapsed on the restroom floor. I don't know how it happened, but when I found him he was in so much pain that I called George who came over and picked him up. He said he would call when he knew anything, but he hasn't yet."

"Oh, Casey…" Nora said and pulled her into a hug. "Poor Derek… And poor George…!"

"Poor nobody." Edwin said and folded his arms. "Trust me ladies, the only one you're gonna feel sorry for is Derek when dad finds out that he has faked the whole thing."

"Edwin…!" Nora said with a shocked expression. "How can you say that? Derek is at the hospital, and I doubt that even he would go to such lengths-"

"Please. With all due respect Nora, but you don't know my brother even half as well as I do." Edwin said with a confident smile. "And I bet every upcoming birthday gift _and_ Christmas present that Derek is fit as a fiddlely diddle. The only reason to why dad hasn't called yet is probably because he's too angry or embarrassed to talk right now."

"He didn't fake this, Edwin." Casey told Edwin with a sad look. "Not this time."

"I'm sorry, Casey, but it's a fact." Edwin began politely. "Derek Venturi never gets sick. I mean, of course there was the chickenpox, but I'm telling you, Derek doesn't DO sick. It's the law of nature; like that a penguin can never fly even if it wants to."

"Edwin, you weren't there-" Casey started.

"I've seen every sick-prank he's ever made." Edwin explained with the manner of someone with great experience. "Please, he used to practice them on me to make sure they looked realistic enough. But sure, if you wanna worry for no reason, go ahead. I'll be in Derek's room. But shout when he gets home, will ya? I'm gonna need a few seconds head start. He said that if he'd ever find me in his room again, he'd bury my games in the trash can and me with them."

Edwin left the living room and went up the stairs in a very calm manner.

"Casey, I do believe you, I really do." Nora said uncertainly. "But are you absolutely sure that Derek couldn't have-"

"Faked the whole thing? Definitely." Casey answered. "I know that Derek is the king of lies and master of deceit, but there's no way he'd stage this kind of act just to get home from school a little early."

"So Edwin is probably just in…"

"Denial. Yeah, that's what I would bet on."

"Well, who can blame him?" Nora said. "He looks up to Derek and probably thinks of him as some kind of superman."

"Superman would be nicer to his stepsister…" Casey pointed out.

"Probably, sweetie." Nora said with a smile.

"So… When do you think we should tell the others?"

"I think we should wait…" Nora said. "Lizzie seems to already have an idea of what's going on from your immensely trustworthy slumber party story. Nice work with that, by the way."

"Thanks." Casey said.

"And I think it's better if Marti hears it directly from her father." Nora said and left for the kitchen. "Let's start dinner and find something nice to talk about till George gets back."

oOoOo

**Next time:** A short chapter where we get to meet George, and finally find out what really happened to Derek...


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **This is a shorter chapter than usual. I've no idea what you guys are gonna think about it, but I kinda felt that it was needed… I hope you like George! XD

Again, I'm sorry for keeping people waiting. The next chapter will hopefully be up next week. *fingers crossed*

oOoOo

Casey tossed and turned under the sheets, but it was no use. It didn't matter in what position she lied, or how cool her sheets were, or how fluffy her pillow was. She couldn't sleep no matter how hard she tried.

She sighed and glared at the alarm clock next to the bed. It was proudly telling her that it was 01:39, and that she was still awake. Casey repressed the urge of tossing her pillow in its direction. Instead, she turned away from the clock and the ungodly hour, closed her eyes and tried to think of something nice. Something that would soothe her mind, allow her brain to take a break and slow down for a few seconds and just relax for the first time for today.

Ok, so she was a little worried.

She didn't like this feeling. Not at all. The only time she usually felt this uneasy was the day before a test in school. It didn't matter which kind, she worried equally about the small ones just as much as the big ones. But right now, none of that seemed very important.

"Derek is in the hospital…" Casey mumbled into the pillow. She wasn't sure why she had said it out loud.

What troubled her the most was that she couldn't stop thinking of the worst case scenarios. Even the least likely ones made her feel sick to her stomach with concern. She would gladly admit to the whole wide world that she worried about her idiot step brother; as long as it turned that there was nothing to worry about.

Casey's body stiffened when she heard something from the outside. Wheels against gravel. An engine running and then stopping. It had to be George.

Casey threw the blanket to the side and got up from her bed. She hurried towards her door. But as soon as she opened it, she stopped and sneaked out as quietly as she could. No need to wake the others. Especially not Marti. Casey was just about to take the stairs when she stopped herself. She could see Nora sitting in the living room, seemingly very much awake.

Casey hadn't expected this, and she hesitated. Her mom had clearly been awake this whole time, just waiting for George to get home. Casey watched her silently for a second before slowly backing away. George and Nora hadn't seen each other since early this morning. She didn't have the heart to ruin their reunion.

As soon as Casey turned around to leave, she heard the rattling noise of keys and how someone pulled the doorknob. Casey quickly hid behind a wall and peeked out. Alright, she was still not planning on disturbing George and Nora. But as long as no one saw her, no harm done. Right? She couldn't go back to bed anyway. She would never be able to go back to sleep now! She had to hear about Derek first. And she was not going to wait till breakfast… If she wanted the news without the sugarcoating, it was now or never.

George walked inside and hanged off his coat. His every movement was heavy and tired, like a person that was mentally and physically drained. He noticed Nora in the couch, but she didn't say anything. She sat up silently and just watched him. Waiting for him to take the first step, to give an indication of what he needed from her. George stood still for a few seconds and then walked up to Nora. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. She did the same, letting his head rest on her shoulder. His voice was so muffled from the hug that Casey could barely hear the words.

"He's going to be fine." George stated.

Casey couldn't help but make a small gasp of relief, which was luckily lost to the adults who were too busy with each other to notice her. Nora gave George a kiss on the cheek and released him from the hug.

"How is he?" Nora asked him with a worried look. "Casey told me what happened. Or, most of it. I have to admit that I stopped listening when she got to the details… It sounded too much like a scene from some horror movie."

"It sure felt like one." George answered stiffly. "At first the doctors didn't even have a clue of what was wrong. And I think that was the most terrifying part of all… I mean, it is one thing to watch your own son in that much pain and not being able to do a thing to help. But not knowing if it's gonna get worse, or better, or if he is gonna…- This is going to give me nightmares for a month… I don't think I've ever been this scared in my entire life."

"I understand." Nora said comforting and rubbed Georges shoulder in an affectionate way.

"All those cocky, young fellows that brag about swimming with sharks and bungee jumping from bridges… I _dare_ them to get kids instead. You see, _that's_ a kind of scare that never goes away. Ever." George said with a rueful laugh.

He then trailed off with an exhausted sigh and sat down in the couch. He dragged both hands through his hair and then buried his face in them.

"God, I'm glad that this is over…" George stated in a grateful voice.

"Did they figure out what was wrong with him?" Nora asked and sat down next to him.

"Pancreatitis." George answered simply. "I never thought I'd be so happy to hear that word… It was acute, but a mild case. So he'll most likely spend the rest of the week in the hospital, but he is going to be completely fine."

"Pancreatitis?" Nora repeated with a frown. "That's a bit unexpected… Do they know how he got it?

"Um… No. Apparently, you can get it in a lot of different ways, so the doctors are not so sure what could have caused it." George answered after some thought. "They took him in for an ultra sound, drew some blood, did a CT-scan… The only thing they know for sure is that his pancreas is inflamed, but not exactly how it came to be. Could be gallstones, could be a hit in the stomach during hockey training… They simply don't know."

"Well… What about Derek?" Nora asked. "Did they get a chance to talk to him about it?

"They gave him something for the pain almost the second we got there, so he was pretty much out of it the whole time." George explained and scratched his head. "And, well, before that he was hurting so much that I doubt he even realized that he was in a hospital until they gave him that shot. I think he slept through most of what was happening around him after that…"

George stared blankly at the wall in front of him while going through the recent events in his head. Nora carefully put a hand on his knee which made him snap back to the present. He then shook his head to clear his mind a little and sighed tiredly.

"… I swear that the whole time I was with him, I was this close to actually yell at him to drop the act and admit that he was faking the whole thing." George said in a frustrated voice.

"Edwin still thinks that he is." Nora told him with a semi smile. "Boy, that's gonna be awkward tomorrow…"

"Yeah. Well, when you've known Derek for as long as Edwin has, you think you know all of his tricks and acts." George told Nora with an almost amused look. "But when you've known Derek for as long as _I_ have, you learn where he really draws the line of his sick-stunts. I knew something was off the moment Casey called me using his phone…Oh, and I got a speeding ticket by the way."

"George…!" Nora said disapprovingly.

"The policeman was a bit odd though." George said, ignoring Nora's remark and raised an eyebrow. "After he stopped me and I explained the situation, he still wrote me a ticket but then he told me to follow his car. He drove straight to the hospital, and he was going way more over the speed limit than I did."

"George, you can't be serious…"

"You're right. I don't know if he went faster than me. I never checked how fast I was going to begin with."

George and Nora went silent for a few seconds.

"I take it that the kids are all asleep?" George asked in a small talk kind of voice.

"Well, they wanted to stay up longer to wait for you and Derek. But eventually I got them in bed around eleven. They should all be sleeping by now."

Casey felt a small tug of nervousness at this statement, but shook the feeling off to concentrate on her eavesdropping while making sure to breathe as quietly as possible.

"When do you think it is okay to visit him at the hospital?" Nora added.

"The doctors thought that he probably could handle a few visitors tomorrow afternoon. As long as he's not too tired and if we keep it brief." George answered and glanced at his wrist watch. "I'm going back there early this morning, right after telling the kids the news. I have to work, so… Maybe you can take them to see him after school? I can call you and let you know if he's feeling up for it."

"That sounds like a good plan." Nora agreed.

"So, speaking of the kids…" George said and looked at Nora. "How's Casey doing?"

"Considering the rather gruesome circumstances, she seems to be handling everything pretty well." Nora answered. "She told Marti that Derek is at a slumber party, so that's basically what you have to work with tomorrow when you're gonna explain to her why Derek's in a hospital."

"Really?" George said with a chuckle. "Well, I feel bad that she got dragged into all of this. I can't imagine what she must have gone through before I arrived... But at the same time, I'm happy that she was the one who found him. I guess that sometimes, there really is a meaning with everything."

"What do you mean with that?" Nora asked curiously.

"If Derek hadn't stolen Casey's assignment to begin with, do you think she still would have missed class to go looking for him?" George asked Nora with a sincere look.

Casey could feel how she blushed. She hadn't exactly thought back on what she had done during the events in the restroom. The fact that she was the one who had found Derek hadn't hit her, or what would have happened to him if she hadn't… Well, there was no point in thinking about that now.

George had slumped down more comfortably in the couch and was leaning towards Nora's shoulder. Casey thought that he somehow looked older than she had ever seen him. Like if the last twelve hours had aged him significantly.

"I've never seen him like that..." George suddenly said in a low voice.

"I know, George." Nora said in a comforting voice and stroked his hair.

"One moment he was literally writhing in pain, and in the next he was sleeping so soundly that I, more than once mind you, thought for sure that he had- … When I left, or rather when the nurse finally kicked me out, he had an IV-drip in his arm, an oxygen tube through his nose, another IV for the pain… Everything was so surreal. You never picture your own kid in that kind of situation."

Nora didn't say anything and just nodded while she kept stroking his hair. They sat like this for a minute. Casey was considering going back to bed.

"Come on, now. Let's go to bed." Nora suddenly said, as if she had read her daughter's mind. "You look exhausted."

"Can't I just stay here…?" George suggested and yawned.

"… You _want_ to sleep on the couch?" Nora asked with a crooked smile.

"Is that a bad idea?" George asked uncertainly.

"Let's not give the kids any more to worry about for tonight…" Nora answered as she got up and held out her hand to help him up.

"Fine, you're right…" George said and took her hand.

They both left the living room and Casey started to carefully sneak back to her own bed, quietly thanking Nora and George for choosing the basement as their bedroom, and not the second floor…

oOoOo

**(Quick) Author's Note:** One of the problems I had here, and which forced me to postpone the last chapter for quite some time, was that I had completely forgot what it was that made Derek sick…I knew that I had something in mind when I wrote Chapter 2, but I couldn't find any notes about it. So… I had to play doctor myself and try to figure out, based on Derek's symptoms from the first two chapters, what he was suffering from. _(Note that I'm not a doctor, nor a medical student, so I can't tell how accurate any medical related information is in this story. I've done some research and hope that it will sound true enough to not ruin the plot for anyone.)_

**Next Time:** Time to meet Derek! How is he doing after all of this…? Next chapter is the last one, so please leave a review so that I know how I'm doing so far…


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